


all that i want is to be where you are

by anna_kat



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Henry Lewis, Olive Lewis, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 19:56:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2441045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anna_kat/pseuds/anna_kat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a mission, some of the residents of a town go missing and the team ends up taking care of two kids who seem entirely smitten with Jemma. Grant's a little hesitant, but he's also smitten with Jemma, so who is he to judge?</p>
            </blockquote>





	all that i want is to be where you are

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous request: "Biospecialist hanging out with kids!"

The little girl is named Olive, she tells them as she sits on (of all people) May’s lap. Her baby brother’s name is Henry, she says, pointing at the little boy that sits curled up on Jemma’s lap across the room. She’s four years old, had a Bubble Guppies birthday party, likes dolphins, the color yellow, fruit snacks, stuffed animals, blanket forts, and May’s hair.

“It’s very soft, ‘Linda.” She insists, twisting on the agent’s lap to run her fingers through May’s dark hair again. “I like it.”

There isn’t a magical transformation where May goes soft and giggly, but she does proffer up a small smile for the girl. “Thank you.” She turns to raise an eyebrow at Coulson. “You sure this is protocol?”

“We couldn’t just leave them there!” Jemma insists. “Half the town’s disappeared!”

“Including their parents.” Fitz adds, making the mistake of stepping toward Jemma and Henry, the latter bursting into tears and gripping Jemma’s shirt tight. “Sorry.”

“He likes you.” Grant says quietly, and for the millionth time. He’s managed to get nearest to the biochemist and the baby, taking up residence on the opposite end of the couch and trying not to draw the little boy’s attention.

Skye grins. “This is awakening something in you, isn’t it, Mr. Roboto?”

He rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to say something when Olive slides off May’s lap and scurries to Jemma, climbing up beside her and burring against her ribs. “Where’s Mommy and Daddy, Jemma?”

The biochemist looks up at the others for a moment, and Coulson, May, and Skye all take off in different directions. “We’re going to find them, sweetheart. Don’t you worry.”

Fitz rolls a tiny little gear from one hand to the other, eyes looking up like he’s thinking about something. Then he stands up straighter and holds a hand out. “Olive, you want to come down to the lab with me? There’s some pretty cool stuff we can look at.”

Grant tries (fails) not to grin when the little girl whips her head around to show wide, pleading eyes to Jemma. “Fitz, you don’t let her touch anything dangerous and make sure all the samples with the orange stickers get put away!”

He rolls his eyes and takes Olive’s little hand in his, heading for the stairs. “Right this way, lass.”

Alone now with Jemma and the baby, Grant hazards a glance at the boy. His eyes are closed, fingers still twisted in Jemma’s button-up. “You’re doing well with them.” He half-whispers.

She shrugs, rubbing Henry’s back gently. “They’re very sweet. I’ve always liked children.” She looks up, looks hard at Grant for a moment. It sort of throws him off, and she looks like she might say something else, but doesn’t.

He shakes his head a little to refocus. “Well, they like you best, it seems.”

Jemma raises an eyebrow. “Perhaps Skye was correct. Feeling that primal urge to reproduce?”

Grant stands off the couch, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m going to go see what the plan is.”

“I love you.” She says quietly.

He turns back around. “Love you too, Jem.” He leans down to kiss her, but Henry’s eyes snap open and he wails loudly.

Good. Just what he needed. Another person on this plane to keep him from his girlfriend.

 

-

 

“Oh, Fitz.” Jemma sighs, like she predicted she would when she finally made it down to the lab. “Fitz, Fitz, _Fitz_ , what happened down here?”

The Scotsman looks up abruptly, trying not to appear startled. It’s somewhat lost when he’s covered in pink and yellow glitter. “Uh. Olive and I made glitter.”

Jemma rotates her sore shoulder while she tries to process. “You _made_ glitter? How do you make glitter?” She holds her hand up before he can respond. “No, I take that back.”

“Where’s Henry?” Olive asks, sitting on top of the table and significantly less glitter-covered than her supposed chaperone.

Jemma helps the little girl down and takes her hand. “He’s sleeping, darling. I wanted to come and ask if you’re hungry for lunch, so Grant is sitting with Henry.”

“Oh good, we can expect an earth-shattering scream the second the tyke wakes up, then.” Fitz says, trying to brush the glitter from the curls of his hair.

Rolling her eyes at her best friend, Jemma starts to tug Olive toward the doors. “Skye’s done with her preliminary search. She’ll help you get all the glitter off. When she’s done laughing.”

“Fitz is funny, Jemma.” Olive says with a giggle as she leads the way up the stairs.

“You think so, hm?” The biochemist replies with a grin. “He’s rather silly, isn’t he?”

Olive just laughs, taking Jemma’s hand again and following her through the plane. “Is there peanut butter and jelly, Jemma? Peanut butter’s my favorite.”

“Peanut butter sounds good.” Jemma says as they step into the lounge. She smiles at Grant, who’s sitting two couch cushions away from where Henry is fast asleep. “Olive, I’m going to make you some lunch, but you can stay here with Grant, okay?”

“Okay!” She replies, flying across the room and climbing onto Grant’s lap like she’s done it a thousand times.

On the other hand, the specialist looks at Jemma with a panicked expression. She just giggles. “You’ll be fine, love. She likes to tell you stories and ask you questions. Skye brought some Play-Doh out from her bunk and if you need something else to do, I downloaded some children’s books on my tablet.” He’s still looking at her with wide eyes. “I’m only making lunch, Grant. It’ll be a few minutes. You’ll be fine.”

He nods slowly and she turns to head for the kitchen. “Jemma calls you ‘love’, and sometimes she calls me ‘love’.” Olive observes quietly, reaching for the bright pink Play-Doh on the table. “Does Jemma take care of you too, Grant?”

Jemma lingers just around the corner to hear his answer. “Yeah. She does.”

 

-

 

Putting together a full, balanced meal for a four-year old using the kitchen contents of the Bus took longer than Jemma had predicted. Peanut butter and jelly was easy, but finding other things that weren’t protein bars, candy, or wildly exotic goods from their travels (that a child wouldn’t even touch, let alone eat) was a bit harder.

It definitely took more than the few minutes she’s promised, which she doesn’t realize until Olive comes skipping into the kitchen.

“Did you find the peanut butter, Jemma? I’m hungry.” She stands on her toes to try and see onto the counter.

Jemma fills a cup with juice while she speaks. “Yes, love, I found it. Almost done.” She turns to look down at Olive as though she’s just processed that she’s there. “Where’s Grant?”

“He’s in the other room still. I came to check on you.” Olive steps back from the counter and does a little spin. “You should see our Play-Doh city, Jemma, it’s good. And we read some books. The one about the bunny that runs away, I like that one.” She gets a glint in her eyes that Jemma usually associates with Fitz and Skye planning to do something stupid, so she chorales Olive back toward the lounge. “Henry’s awake.”

Jemma’s eyebrows go up. She hadn’t heard a peep. “Oh? Is he alright?”

Olive pulls at the belt loops of Jemma’s pants, leading the way. “He’s good. He likes when Grant dances.”

“When Grant what?” Jemma actually stops moving for a moment.

Olive keeps tugging at the belt loops until Jemma steps forward again. “Dances! He’s singing that song about the dude.”

“The dude?”

“With all the nah-nah-nahs.”

Jemma grins. She should’ve guessed what song right from the start. “‘Hey Jude’.” She offers to Olive, who nods.

“Yeah, that one. Look.” She stops Jemma with a gentle push, and they both look into the lounge.

The lounge, where one of Jemma’s very favorite people in the entire universe has a one-year old pressed to his chest. Henry’s little arms are curled in front of him, one hand gripping Grant’s t-shirt like he’d been holding Jemma’s earlier. The thumb of his other hand is in his mouth. Grant shifts his weight, swaying slightly as he drifts his fingers across Henry’s back slowly.

 

“ _Hey Jude, don’t let me down_

_You have found her, now go and get her_

_Remember to let her into your heart_

_Then you can start to make it better…_ ”

 

“Oh.” Jemma sighs quietly. She didn’t think there was much else he could surprise her with at this point. She was wrong.

Before she can comprehend her movements, she’s crossed the room to stand in front of him, reached carefully around Henry, and pulled him down to kiss her.

“Ew, kisses!” Olive yelps. Henry doesn’t seem to mind, perking up at the sight of Jemma and grabbing for her instead.

When she pulls away, Grant’s eyes are wide and the corner of his mouth lifts up. “I take it that sounded okay?”

“It was beautiful.” She tells him softly, taking a now squirmy Henry into her arms.

Olive wedges between them, tugging at Grant’s shirt. “Can I dance too? Please, Grant?”

He steps back a little and grins when the little girl holds her hands up. He swings her into his arms, groaning dramatically as though lifting a four-year old was actually a struggle for him. He uses one arm to support her and the other hand cradles her littler one carefully in his. “I suppose I can handle one more dance.”

Olive giggles. “You have to sing.”

Grant flushes slightly. “Uh, I don’t know, Olive.”

She frowns. “But you sang for Henry! And there’s no music if you don’t sing.”

Jemma grins, making sure to give Grant her sad eyes when he looks to her. Between that and Olive, he’ll be singing in a heartbeat.

And he does, starting ‘Hey Jude’ over again and swaying Olive around the room dramatically. Henry giggles and Jemma starts to rock him back and forth too.

 

-

 

They find Olive and Henry’s parents before night falls (the rest of the town too) and Jemma feels strange walking about the Bus without a child in her arms or directly beside her.

“Crazy day.” Grant sighs heavily as he collapses on the couch with her.

She smiles at him, her eyelids heavy. “Probably wasn’t the craziest, though.” He’s rubbing her back and it’s definitely not helping her stay awake.

“Probably not.”

Jemma lets her head drop back against the couch cushions, then rolls her neck to meet his eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

His fingers glide through her hair. “Yes.”

“Do you want children?” She sees different emotions flicker across his face (she’s getting better at reading him) and decides to amend the question a bit. “Not right now, but… ever? Do you ever see yourself with children? With a family?”

His eyes roam over her face slowly, and she realizes that she was sort of asking a secondary question as well. He realized it much sooner, based on his silence.

But he’s still running his fingers through her hair and he doesn’t look scared or panicked or trapped.

“It’s okay.” She practically whispers, biting her bottom lip. “You don’t have to answer that.”

“I never wanted a family before.” He says, almost over-top of what she had said. “I didn’t think I’d find anyone I’d want to spend the rest of my life with. Or, really, anyone who would want to spend the rest of their life with me.”

She shifts so she can press her back to his side, holding his hand when he wraps an arm around her waist.

“I never thought I’d be a good dad. I did an awful job trying to protect my brother, and I assumed I’d be just as awful with my own kid.” He raises a shoulder in a slow shrug. “I didn’t think I’d be good at family.”

Jemma tries to find words. They fail her. She sits still, rubs her thumb over his knuckles, tries to comfort him with her presence. He doesn’t say anything either, for awhile.

But then his other arm wraps around her, pulling her closer. His chin rests on her shoulder and he kisses her cheek softly. “I think I’d like a family with you. Someday.”

Yes. She’d like that too.


End file.
